Yazmeen,
I'm so glad you contributed a doctor's perception on all this. Having worked in various aspects of healthcare for many years, I know what you mean about the general "I want it yesterday" attitude and I think it's been one of the problems keeping the US from moving forward with a universal health insurance plan. Unfortunately, at least IMO, the people who know how really desperate the healthcare/insurance situation is tend to be either healthcare workers, patients with chronic conditions, or families of one, the other, or both. Whenever I ran into patients who would throw those, "I want my test results this very second!" tantrums, I'd just want to say, "You obviously have no idea what waiting is." Once in a doctor's waiting room (this was NYC) a guy rushed in, up to the receptionist and practically shouted, "I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING ACROSS TOWN IN HALF AN HOUR! I NEED TO SEE DR. X FOR ACUPUNCTURE RIGHT NOW!" and then he just charged back to Dr. X's office--and Dr. X took him! The rest of us in the waiting room just looked at each other.
I think too many people think, "I've got good health insurance now. Even if the costs are going up, better to stay with what you know is good." Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to communicate to people who have a job and who are healthy that it can all go like that and also that, contrary to most people's underlying assumptions, there really truly is no safety net for the middle class. And to qualify for Medicaid you must have an extremely low income and virtually no assets, other than your own residence and a car.
Anyway, the awful thing is that both caregivers and patients are getting in deeper and deeper, yet these groups are so often at odds. And there are those relatively small percentages of patients, physicians, researchers, drug companies, etc. who do take advantage of the system yet those few get an inordinant amount of attention. Once people start talking about it, obviously it's a very emotional issue. I'm only 47 and I'm not sure this issue will be satisfactorally resolved in my lifetime.
Rgirl
I'm so glad you contributed a doctor's perception on all this. Having worked in various aspects of healthcare for many years, I know what you mean about the general "I want it yesterday" attitude and I think it's been one of the problems keeping the US from moving forward with a universal health insurance plan. Unfortunately, at least IMO, the people who know how really desperate the healthcare/insurance situation is tend to be either healthcare workers, patients with chronic conditions, or families of one, the other, or both. Whenever I ran into patients who would throw those, "I want my test results this very second!" tantrums, I'd just want to say, "You obviously have no idea what waiting is." Once in a doctor's waiting room (this was NYC) a guy rushed in, up to the receptionist and practically shouted, "I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING ACROSS TOWN IN HALF AN HOUR! I NEED TO SEE DR. X FOR ACUPUNCTURE RIGHT NOW!" and then he just charged back to Dr. X's office--and Dr. X took him! The rest of us in the waiting room just looked at each other.
I think too many people think, "I've got good health insurance now. Even if the costs are going up, better to stay with what you know is good." Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to communicate to people who have a job and who are healthy that it can all go like that and also that, contrary to most people's underlying assumptions, there really truly is no safety net for the middle class. And to qualify for Medicaid you must have an extremely low income and virtually no assets, other than your own residence and a car.
Anyway, the awful thing is that both caregivers and patients are getting in deeper and deeper, yet these groups are so often at odds. And there are those relatively small percentages of patients, physicians, researchers, drug companies, etc. who do take advantage of the system yet those few get an inordinant amount of attention. Once people start talking about it, obviously it's a very emotional issue. I'm only 47 and I'm not sure this issue will be satisfactorally resolved in my lifetime.
Rgirl